England striker Defoe is poised to play a starring role on Merseyside on Sunday, when his Spurs side visit Everton in a clash between the two Champions League hopefuls.

Defoe has scored 15 goals for club and country this season, including a delicate finish against Panathinaikos on Thursday to guarantee his club a place in the knockout stages of the Europa League.

And former Liverpool goalkeeper Friedel, a team-mate of Fowler's for three years at Anfield, reckons Defoe “comes on fire” inside the box - just like the man known simply as God by Kop fans.

“What does he do to make it difficult for goalkeepers? He scores!” said the American. “He reminds me a lot of Robbie Fowler in his finishing because he has a really short back-lift.

“When you have a really short back-lift, sometimes keepers cannot get their feet set.

"On top of that, he has got some power behind his shot.

“Then, he can disguise it and do what he did on Thursday and dink it over the keeper.

"He is an exceptional finisher and he really comes on fire when he is inside the box.”

Defoe, now 30, has never been an undisputed England regular and was often demoted to the Spurs bench last season by then-boss Harry Redknapp.

But Friedel continued: “Players respect his finishing capabilities immensely. He has got a finish as good as all of them - Fowler, Alan Shearer.

"Maybe the public don’t see it, but players - and goalkeepers especially - have an immense amount of respect in their goalscoring powers.

“All strikers when they start scoring goals on a run then their confidence builds and builds and builds. They feel like they are going to score no matter where they are on the pitch and he is definitely in that vein of form at the moment.”

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Scouse that roared: Fowler (left) remains a hero among Liverpool fans

Andre Villas-Boas’ side arrive at Goodison Park on a run of three consecutive Premier League wins which has lifted them into fourth place.

Defoe and fellow striker Emmanuel Adebayor both scored against Panathinaikos, and now the Portuguese coach must decide whether to start them together for only the second time in the league.

Their first game in tandem lasted 18 minutes before the Togo striker, who has suffered back and hamstring injuries this season, was sent off against Arsenal last month.

“When we have played two up front, Jermain really thrives on that and he can save his energy for inside the box where it really matters for us,” Friedel added.

The American goalkeeper, who also played against Panathinaikos after missing the previous five games, is set to return to the bench at Goodison with Hugo Lloris returning to the side.

Friedel said: “Do I thrive on competition? Absolutely, otherwise I wouldn’t play football. I definitely wouldn’t be playing at the age of 41.”

Spurs turned down a request from Friedel’s former club Blackburn to take him on loan last month.

When asked if he would consider leaving in January, he replied: “I cannot answer that question. It is all hypothetical.

"Right now, I am a Tottenham player and I am very happy here.”

Defender Jan Vertonghen has admitted his fellow Belgian Marouane Fellaini is a special talent - but reckons Spurs can handle the Toffees' talisman.

“He is one of the big players in the Premier League,” said the defender. “I know him very well because of the national team.

"He is their most important player and it will be difficult to play him. But the way we have played the last three games in the Premier League, we can beat anyone and that is what we will be going for.”

Spurs' star man Gareth Bale is still out with a hamstring injury.

Moyes felt Pienaar was risky business

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More Pie? Moyes admits he wasn't sure about buying back Pienaar

David Moyes admits he felt uncomfortable re-signing Steven Pienaar - because it did not make good business sense for Everton.

Moyes has established a reputation for making value-for-money signings in the transfer market during his decade long stint in charge at Goodison.

Tim Cahill scored 56 Premier League goals after signing for just £1.5m in 2004 while Joleon Lescott, a £5m buy from Wolves in 2006, was sold three years later to Manchester City for £22m.

Despite Pienaar making 100 top-flight starts during his first spell at Everton, Moyes felt uneasy shelling out £4.5m to bring the South African back from Tottenham - 18 months after allowing him to leave for £3m.

But the 30-year-old, who is set to face Spurs at Goodison this weekend, has proved to be another excellent investment.

The former Ajax player has been influential during his team's solid start to the campaign.

Toffees boss Moyes said "I did worry when it was first mentioned about bringing Steven back.

"At Everton, we have always tried to do good deals and have always tried to buy at the right age and the right price.

"We had to buy Steven back for more than we sold him for. That didn't sit well with me because I didn't particularly see it as a good business deal. But I knew on the football side of things he would make us better.

"It's been a great deal for us and we're delighted to have him."

Pienaar completed his permanent return to Goodison in the summer after a successful loan spell during the second half of last season.

Moyes added: "Steven wanted to come back - that was the biggest thing.

"He wanted to come back more than anything and because of that it swayed me to do the deal."

Prem predictions: Simon Bird gazes into his crystal ball ahead of Everton vs Tottenham and the rest of the weekend's top flight fixtures.